Facing the Start of the End

It´s been two weeks since my last post.  I´ve been busy but at the same time it has been a holiday, compared with the two weeks before.

I left Granada and bimbled up to the Sierra Nevada mountains for a few days.  In that time I put in a 10-hour day climbing Mulhacen, the highest mountain in continental Spain at 3482m.  This turned out to be more of a struggle than I expected!  I camped at a town called Guejar Sierra, which isn´t the usual starting point for Mulhacen, but it is much closer to Granada.  As a result I had 2400m of ascent over the course of 15km, and that was only to get there!  The initial 10km were quite easily angled, but once above 2000m the ground steepened and became much rougher.

Happy at the summit, with the North Face behind me.

I arrived at the summit cold and tired but with fantastic views inland.  Unfortunately there was a layer of cloud obscuring the views towards Africa, but even so the panorama was spectacular.  I happened to meet two Spanish walkers on the way up, who had started at the ski centre on the other side of the mountain.  There the road runs up to 2400m, so they had only 1000m to climb!  However they had no map so didn´t quite know if they were on the correct mountain...

Searching beyond the clouds for a glimpse of Africa

I had left the campsite at 0830 and it was now 1530, so I had to get a wriggle on to get home before dark.  I jogged down from the summit to about 2000m and then tiredness hit.  It was a slow walk back to the roadhead.  Once on the road I had 7km to the campsite, but thankfully I was offered a lift my some nice Granadians.  The only downside that my embarrassing lack of Spanish was exposed as they had no English!  They dropped me off at 1930 and I quickly cooked up a storm on my stove and fell into bed.

My next stop turned out to be Marbella!  I hadn´t planned on staying here but the foibles of the Spanish road system meant the only way forward was the motorway, which I didn´t fancy on the bike.  I ended up in Marbella for 5 days, as I was feeling particularly drained.  I think the 455-mile week to Granada and day on Mulhacen had pretty much emptied the tanks.

I left on the bus for a 20-mile jaunt to the end of the motorway and headed for Gibraltar.  I´ve always wanted to go because of the place it holds in history.  One of the Pillars of Hercules, the last bastion of Europe before Africa and the vital role it played in World War II combine in an aura of non-reality in my mind.

First sight of Gibraltar!

However, it is real and very noisy.  There is so little land that everything is packed tightly in, with history seemingly blowing with the wind.  I found a hostel and sat in the main square, taking it all in.  The draw of height saw me making my sweaty way up the Rock itself, passing all sorts of military constructions, from the Moors to WW2.  Eventually I was on the edge, looking over the town and towards Africa on one side and gazing over the cliffs and Spain on the other.

As I moved along the ridgeline I passed the Apes and Africa began to glow in the setting sun.  It is so close!  I could see buildings and lights, with the Rif mountains rising from the shore with endless ranges behind them.  At once I felt excitement and anticipation for the next step of the journey, while also feeling a tinge of sadness at the trip coming to an end.  A strange feeling compared to how I was in Barcelona a month ago!

From the Rock, over the Straits to Morocco and the Rif Mountains.

The next day I met Mum and Dad in Algeciras.  They have come out for a week in the sun, and I´m staying with them until Friday.  How strange it was to see them here!  I have spent less than 3 weeks in their company since Christmas so being able to relax and chat with nowhere in particular to go is bliss.

Helpfully checking my mane for bugs.  I´m just a dirty tourist...

We are all going to Morocco tomorrow (Friday 15th), Mum and Dad for the day and me until I come home.  I still don´t have a route in mind, or much knowledge about food and accommodation there so I have lots to do before I go!  My flight home is on the 8th December, and I am meeting Riley in Marrakech on the 5th, so I have 3 weeks to explore the country.  Any suggestions welcome!

P.S. I almost got on the radio to talk about the trip in Marbella, and it reminded me about the JustGiving page.  You have raised almost 1000 pounds, so if anyone hasn´t donated yet please be the one to push it over the edge!

UK2Africa JustGiving Page

Thanks for reading, hope to see you all in a month.

John